STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Past seems to be prologue for a West Brighton man accused in a string of burglaries.

Police say Anthony Hemby, 20, of the 700 block of Henderson Avenue, teamed up with a younger buddy, Michael Washington, 18, to break into two houses in his neighborhood last month.

It’s not the duo’s first brush with the law — police arrested both last fall, accusing them of breaking into homes on Delafield Avenue in September.

This time around, police allege, the duo tried to enter a house on the 100 block of Harvest Avenue on May 7, making their way into the backyard, then giving up after they found the windows and doors locked. They then moved on to a house on Martling Avenue, police allege.

Hemby admitted to both attempts, court papers allege, saying of the Martling house: "Mike and I were in the yard trying to break into the house. Mike broke the glass patio door then pushed the air conditioner in."

Washington was arrested last month, caught hiding in the closet of a house on Clove Lakes Place while the homeowners were on vacation, according to police.

Hemby is also linked to a third break-in on the 100 block of Raymond Place, accused of taking two cell phones a laptop and jewelry sometime between May 6 and 7. It’s not clear if Washington was involved in that incident.

Police have also charged Hemby in connection with a domestic assault — authorities say he slapped his girlfriend hard enough to knock her to the ground and cut her head on June 8.

A law enforcement source said both Hemby and Washington were on a three-year intense supervision probation as a result of their arrests last fall.